Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rigby is sitting in a chair with a drink while talking with Huberman (Ingrid Bergman)the film was reversed during editing resulting in Rigby appearing as a mirror image. Specifically, holding the glass in his right hand with his breast pocket and pocket square appearing on the right hand side of his suit, instead of the correct, left side. Between cuts, the image reverts to normal.See more »

Quotes:

Rigby Reardon:Hello, Marlowe. Dammit. You didn't do what I told ya. I hate that dumb way of wearing your shirt buttoned with no tie. Let me get you a tie. [grabs a tie] Rigby Reardon:Here. This one's blue, but you can wear it with brown. Philip Marlowe:You annoy me. Rigby Reardon:I annoy you? You come in here with no tie... Are you drunk? How many have you had? Philip Marlowe:One martini.See more »

This was a modern-day version of a 1940s narrative gangster film, also
known as film noir, but with a different twist. Steve Martin, Rachel
Ward and a few others actors are seen talking to many classic stars of
the past as director Carl Reiner used clips of those films to fake
conversations with the up-to-date real actors of this film . They made
it appear that Alan Ladd, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart et al were
actually talking to Martin.

Obviously, the more acquainted you are with those film noirs, the more
fun this movie will be as you try to recognize what movie those clips
came from. (The answers are shown in the ending credits.) That's the
fun part of this movie.

The not-so-fun part is simply trying to figure how what is happening in
the first place. The plot is not always easy to discern, and it's
doubly difficult because of the constant "interruptions" with the
classic film scene inserted in the story. You get so captivated
watching those old stars that you lose track of the storyline.

That's a big reason I don't think this film ever caught on that much -
the story is too convoluted, just too hard to follow.

Ward was great to watch and Martin was annoying after awhile. If Ward
doesn't look like the embodiment of a 1940s film goddess, I don't know
who does. That, and the razor sharp black-and-white picture with the
real actors, is nice to see. But, Martin, who dominates the film,
overdoes the stupid comments. I would like to have seen this film
played a little straighter, like a real noir. It's a clever film but
sometimes too clever for its own good.

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